India shifts fiscal regime to encourage investment

India is easing rules for exploration and production in an effort to lure investment to boost output

The south Asian nation, which relies heavily on energy imports, will start by auctioning 69 marginal oil and gas fields that have been relinquished by the national oil companies. The 69 discoveries (63 of ONGC and 6 of Oil India), which hold 89m metric tons of oil equivalent in-place resources worth about $11bn, will be offered on a revenue-sharing model basis, said the oil minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. Operators will be free to sell production to Indian customers at market-based prices for gas and liquids. It’s a positive sign, signaling that the government understands the marginal finds may otherwise remain undeveloped, said Abishek Agarwal, an Indian-based energy analyst at Australian inv